Fifty Famous Stories Retold eBook

“Only give me leave to go home and say good-by
to those whom I love,” he said, “and then
I will come back and give up my life.”

The tyrant laughed at him.

“How can I know that you will keep your promise?”
he said. “You only want to cheat me, and
save your-self.”

Then a young man whose name was Da-mon spoke and said,—­

“O king! put me in prison in place of my friend
Pyth-i-as, and let him go to his own country to put
his affairs in order, and to bid his friends fare-well.
I know that he will come back as he promised, for
he is a man who has never broken his word. But
if he is not here on the day which you have set, then
I will die in his stead.”

The tyrant was sur-prised that anybody should make
such an offer. He at last agreed to let Pythias
go, and gave orders that the young man Da-mon should
be shut up in prison.

Time passed, and by and by the day drew near which
had been set for Pythias to die; and he had not come
back. The tyrant ordered the jailer to keep close
watch upon Damon, and not let him escape. But
Damon did not try to escape. He still had faith
in the truth and honor of his friend. He said,
“If Pythias does not come back in time, it will
not be his fault. It will be because he is hin-dered
against his will.”

At last the day came, and then the very hour.
Damon was ready to die. His trust in his friend
was as firm as ever; and he said that he did not grieve
at having to suffer for one whom he loved so much.

Then the jailer came to lead him to his death; but
at the same moment Pythias stood in the door.
He had been de-layed by storms and ship-wreck, and
he had feared that he was too late. He greeted
Damon kindly, and then gave himself into the hands
of the jailer. He was happy because he thought
that he had come in time, even though it was at the
last moment.

The tyrant was not so bad but that he could see good
in others. He felt that men who loved and trusted
each other, as did Damon and Pythias, ought not to
suffer un-just-ly. And so he set them both free.

“I would give all my wealth to have one such
friend,” he said.

A LACONIC ANSWER.

Many miles beyond Rome there was a famous country
which we call Greece. The people of Greece were
not u-nit-ed like the Romans; but instead there were
sev-er-al states, each of which had its own rulers.

Some of the people in the southern part of the country
were called Spar-tans, and they were noted for their
simple habits and their brav-er-y. The name of
their land was La-co’ni-a, and so they were
sometimes called La-cons.

One of the strange rules which the Spartans had, was
that they should speak briefly, and never use more
words than were needed. And so a short answer
is often spoken of as being la-con-ic; that
is, as being such an answer as a Lacon would be likely
to give.